Before delivering her baby girl Summer, Kelsey Davis knew she wanted her 8-year-old daughter Brooke to be involved in the birth. The mom from Arizona told Love What Matters that it wasn’t the first time Brooke had been looking forward to welcoming a little sister.

“When Brooke was 3 years old, we surprised her with an ultrasound picture telling her that in about nine months she was going to be a big sister!” Davis told Love What Matters. “I curled her hair, put some lip gloss on her, a pretty dress, and we went to a big field of grass nearby where I snapped some pictures of her holding a chalkboard that read, ‘I’m going to be a big sister!’ We posted the pictures on Facebook and told all of our family. We were all so ecstatic!”

A couple of weeks later, Davis suffered a pregnancy loss. “Brooke was absolutely heartbroken,” she shared. “She cried so hard and didn’t understand why. As her mom, I told her that God decided to keep the baby with him and that the baby was too precious for earth. That seemed to help her find comfort in the loss. Throughout the next four years, I went through two more miscarriages. Together, her dad and I decided not to tell her of the other two as we didn’t want her heart to be crushed again.”

Fast-forward to 2015 when Davis got a positive pregnancy test result, and once she was “far along enough,” she relayed the news to Brooke. Her little sister Ellie was born on January 3, 2016, and Brooke was in the room to witness the exciting moment.

In 2017, Davis found out she was expecting baby #3 — another girl! “Three girls, just like my mom had,” she said. “I was so excited to have them be able to experience the type of friendship I have with my two sisters.”

It wasn’t even a question to Davis that Brooke would be in the delivery room and actively involved in bringing Summer into the world. “I had a great idea that she could not only be there, but would be able to cut the umbilical cord!” the mom of three said. “She liked the idea and at my next appointment I brought it up to my midwife. She said Brooke could even help deliver and catch the baby! The smile that drew up on Brooke’s face was pure excitement! I prepped Brooke by explaining the positioning, where she could place her hands, that the baby will be slippery and that there will be a lot of blood, but that it is all normal.”

When the day of the birth finally came, Davis said her eldest massaged her feet, rubbed her head, and the pair even danced together to the beat of the baby’s heartbeat on the monitor. Once Davis was told to push, “Brooke stood next to her dad by my feet, watching in pure happiness and amazement! You can see the overwhelming love in her face. She touched the baby’s head as she was crowning and giggled a little. The midwife and nurses were telling Brooke just how brave she was for doing this. I pushed two times and the baby’s head popped out. Brooke prepared by putting her hands with her dads to help catch her newest baby sister, and about one minute after her head came out, so did her sweet little body. Brooke melted!”

Too sweet! And as it turns out, being involved in her sister’s birth could forever shape the course of the 8-year-old’s life. According to Davis, Brooke said of the moment, “It was really cool being there. I think it made all three of us have a very close bond. I learned how to help expel the placenta from the abdomen, and I also realized when I grow up I want to be a midwife.”

Of course the birth was an incredible experience for the proud mom, as well. “Brooke handled it great, and she preferred to be there and is happy she was!” Davis tells What to Expect. “It meant everything to me! I couldn't have imagined not having her there! She's such an awesome sister and daughter...I think a lot of society takes for granted what a kid can handle. We don’t give them enough credit — they're very aware and smart.”

As for her daughter’s goal of becoming a midwife one day? “It makes me extremely proud!” Davis says. “It doesn’t surprise me that she wants to do something that benefits other people. She has a kind soul!”